News this week, and our guest, Dr. Cornel West
News this week, and our guest, Dr. Cornel West
Episode 18 Sneak Peak
At the time of writing, India has reached the fifth day of reporting over 350,000 new infections from COVID-19. The circumstances of this staggering spike in cases — specifically, that the U.S. is sitting on a massive stockpile of vaccines, including millions of AstraZeneca vaccines that aren’t in use — offer a case study in the wealthiest nation’s imperialist, individualistic approach to a global pandemic. After mounting pressure to stop a vaccine apartheid, the U.S. has agreed to export 60 million AstraZeneca doses (it’s unclear which countries will receive them). As one outlet points out, even if all of these doses were allocated to the current crisis in India, they would provide “a drop in the bucket” of the quantity of vaccines needed.
Clearly, part of the answer comes in making the vaccine formulas widely available. After all, public funding played a major role in creating these formulas. The main obstacle here is, of course, the greed of the oligarchs who think of COVID-19 as a major opportunity for profit. Bill Gates put it succinctly:
Forget philanthropists. We need class struggle rooted in international solidarity. And when it comes to solidarity or leftism rooted in love for humanity, is there anyone better to hear from than Dr. Cornel West? That’s why we’re thrilled that Dr. West will be joining us on the show this week, discussing his political life and work. A celebrated author, philosopher, and professor about to return to the Union Seminary faculty, Dr. West has provided inspiration and guidance to generations of leftists, us included. We hope you’ll join us Friday, when paid subscribers can access the video of our conversation with Dr. West. We’re looking forward to it, and we hope you are, too.